Description

The objective of the SBSE-ASES Student Paper Awards program is to encourage students to prepare and present technical papers, to encourage student author participation in the ASES annual solar conference, and to reward exemplary technical and design subject communication efforts. ASES is the selected focus of this program because of the long-standing connection between SBSE and ASES.

Papers nominated for consideration must be by an author who was a full- or part-time student at the time the paper was written. The student author must have played a substantial role in developing and executing the work reported in the paper. Faculty and/or design professionals may have contributed to the paper or the work--but such contribution may not be such as to overshadow the predominantly student input. Nominees must be an SBSE member or be co-nominated by an SBSE member. Nominations will only be considered in conjunction with the current year ASES conference and must be linked to an accepted conference paper.

Award deliberations will collectively consider various types of ASES papers as long as they have been submitted for inclusion in the ASES solar conference proceedings. These may include peer-reviewed papers, abstract-reviewed papers, and/or invited papers (as might be the case with a forum). A copy of the final paper as submitted to ASES must accompany the award nomination.

Nominated papers will be evaluated by a committee convened expressly for this purpose. Papers will be ranked based upon a holistic evaluation of quality. No specific weighting of factors is specified, but evaluators will be asked to consider: quality of presentation (grammar and graphics); logic and structure of the paper; accuracy of contents; creativity of the work and its reporting; and importance/interest of the topic.

Student Paper Award winners will be announced at an appropriate venue during the ASES conference. Honoraria will also be given at the conference. Failure of an author to present his/her work at the scheduled session during the ASES conference will result in disqualification and the award will be rescinded (since the paper will not appear in the conference proceedings).

In cases where there are multiple student authors for a single paper, honoraria will be given to a principal nominating (or nominated) author. It will be that person's responsibility to share the honoraria with other authors. The committee will attempt to provide book awards to all named student authors. Faculty and design professional co-authors may not share in honoraria or receive book awards.

The evaluation committee may, at its discretion, award all or none of the following:

SBSE-ASES Best Paper Award: no more than one, bestowing a $600 honorarium, book, and certificate.

SBSE-ASES Best Paper Honorable Mention: up to two, bestowing a $300 honorarium, book, and certificate.

Nomination Process

Papers may be self-nominated (by an author) or nominated by a third-party (such as a colleague or advisor). There is no pre-established application form for this award. Nominations will consist of an electronically submitted 2-page (maximum) Word or pdf document that unambiguously addresses the information requested below.

1. Nominee contact information: name of the principal nominee, home mailing address, home phone, cell phone (if applicable), e-mail address (e-mail will be the principal means of communication).

2. Nominee type: indicate whether the nomination is for an individual or a team; if for a team, provide the names of all team members. If an award is given to a team, it is the responsibility of the principal nominee to equitably distribute funds received to other members of the team. SBSE will provide a single check to the principal nominee (as identified in Item 1).

3. Nominator information: if this is a self-nomination, so state; if the nomination is by a third-party so state and provide the following information: name of the nominator, mailing address, phone number, e-mail address, and a description of relationship to the nominee (faculty advisor, co-author, colleague, etc.)

4. Educational status: current and prior educational institutions and degrees for nominee(s); student status as of the date of final paper submission; expected date of graduation. Include the following mandatory statement: I certify that at the time this paper was written I / the nominee was a full- or part-time student. By submitting a nomination you endorse this certification. It is not the intent of this award to prohibit the nomination of papers completed by a student who graduated in fall semester/term--but this circumstance must be clearly explained in the application.

5. Role of nominee in paper preparation and presentation: clearly and explicitly describe the role of the nominee in the preparation and presentation of the paper. This award is intended for student-initiated papers, where the role of non-student collaborators or co-authors is nominal. Include the following mandatory statement: I certify that the role of the nominee as described is accurate. By submitting a nomination you endorse this certification.

6. Verification of SBSE membership: affirm that you, as the nominator, are an SBSE member in good standing. If this is not the case, the nomination must be supported by an SBSE member (this can be done via an email declaring such support addressed to awards@sbse.org that provides a specific reference to this nomination).

7. Attach a pdf version of the final paper as submitted to ASES.

See critical dates and deadlines above. Late nominations will not be considered.

Submit nomination letters and a pdf copy of the paper to: awards@sbse.org

Use the Subject: SBSE-ASES Paper Award

Scholarship Coordinator (inquiries only): Walter Grondzik, gzik@polaris.net